
Your eyes lock on your computer screen, head swimming with a NOFO full of funder jargon.
Your fingers flash across the keyboard as you ask the all-knowing sage, Google, "How do you win federal grants?”
The screen loads answers that are both varied and specific, nuanced and broad, causing more confusion than clarity.
Want the simple, step-by-step guide to winning federal grants?
“Of course!”
Well, the recipe for winning federal dollars boils down to three ingredients: the plan, the people and the skills you need to succeed.
Step 1: A Winning Plan
1. What resources, goals, or actions do you need to secure funding? For instance, you may need to craft a logic model as you nail down your program design or simply to satisfy the funder’s requirements. (Want to view a sample logic model? Take a look at our blog here.)
2. Planning should actually start before you go after a federal grant. Do you have a team with the knowledge to complete a complex federal award?
3. Do you know the administrative or indirect costs of your project? If not, the federal award may end up costing you money.
4. Is your project competitive? A review of past funded proposals and a close analysis of the award will help you see if this grant is worth your time. (Want to learn more about gauging competitiveness? View our blog here.)
5. Can you connect with the program officer before applying? This is especially important for certain grant programs or certain agencies, such as the National Science Foundation.
6. Are there any partnerships you should pursue? Often, this is highlighted in the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO), but several agencies and programs have specific partnerships they want to be noted in your proposals. You also want to show community support.
7. You want to have these partnerships in place in time to get a strong letter of commitment or support to submit with your application. (Want a sample letter of support? View the link here.)
8. Planning is usually where grants are won or lost long before you even press submit. One way to plan for success is by putting together a funding strategy that will help you prioritize the grants you want to pursue over the next year or so. Planning will help you avoid costly mistakes, avoid mission drift and focus your energy only on the best opportunities, helping you reduce overhead and level up your ROI.
Planning will help you avoid costly mistakes, avoid mission drift and focus your energy only on the best opportunities, helping you reduce overhead and level up your ROI.
Step 2: A Winning Team
1. Grants, especially federal grants, are a team sport. Your team is composed of the people your organization needs to: 1) successfully complete the grant project and 2) successfully complete the grant proposal. Funders closely examine your project and programming team. You need to spell out why your team has the qualifications and experience you need for the project.
You may need to tweak resumes or even consider hiring for this critical role (e.g., an outside grants management consultant or program evaluator).
2. You’ll also want to ensure you have enough staff to hit your S.M.A.R.T. (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound) goals—for example, if you’re understaffed, don’t anticipate meeting the metrics you did when all roles were full.
Want to learn more about creating solid S.M.A.R.T. goals that will impress funders? View our blog here.
3. Does your fundraising team have a dedicated grants specialist? Have they completed a federal award before? If not, you may want to consider hiring a consultant who can manage this award or, if you intend to go after federal awards long term, an initial consultant can help you build the systems and procedures you will need for federal grants.
Federal grants can take, on average, 100 hours to complete. Your team also needs time for pre-award activities like community outreach or research, and you need someone qualified to manage the award (reports, record retention, implementing privacy policies, etc.) or evaluate the program.
Overall, having a solid team in place can reduce internal stress and greatly increase your chance of securing an award.
Step 3: The Skills You Need to Win
Do you know the top reasons why proposals are rejected?
These boil down to:
The proposal does not exactly align with the funder’s priorities.
The applicant did not follow directions.
The budget’s math does not add up.
The proposal itself was poorly written and illogical.
These gaps are simple enough to plug if you have the right skills on your team. Skills such as strategic planning, a deep understanding of the funder’s priorities and how they judge grants, project management, basic accounting and great communication skills are essential to a winning grant proposal.
For instance, a well-reasoned proposal starts with a basic understanding of your organization's goals, how they tie into your mission and how you plan to source these resources.
Essentially, your grant writer needs to boil down your strategic plan for the funder, highlighting your plans and, whenever possible, softening areas that could lose you points.
Your grant writer needs to manage multiple moving parts if they are going to submit the proposal on time. Corralling stakeholders, coordinating attachments and ensuring there's enough time for multiple reviews of the material is as important as the actual writing of the grant.
Your grant writer also needs to know how to write a detailed, accurate and persuasive budget: some reviewers will pay more attention to the budget and budget narrative than they do to any other part of the proposal.
Finally, words matter. From power words to behavioral economics to storytelling, there are several tools a grant writer can use to paint a clear, memorable and compelling case for funding. Remember, reviewers are spending hours reading narrative after narrative. Yours needs to be the one that stands out … the one they fight to get funded.
Want to learn more about the skills a grant writer should have? Check out our blog here for more details about the skills your grant writer should have.

Conclusion
Federal dollars can be time-consuming and taxing to secure.
But with a plan and the right team, you can streamline this crucial part of your fundraising, helping you secure the resources you need to ignite your impact.
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Do you need support with grants? Reach out to us today for a free consultation.